


The Fox and the Raccoon

by TyrannoVox



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, Sakura is annoying at first, Violence, Will Add More Pairings, but will get better, will add more tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2018-10-02 09:56:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10215176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyrannoVox/pseuds/TyrannoVox
Summary: What if Naruto met the Kyuubi and he became his older brother? Will the same events still happen or will they change?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I know I should stop this but I can't help it. As I stated before, I will get hit by muses of different fandoms and I must act upon them!
> 
> Also question(hope I will get some answers): Where should I start the next chapter? from the beginning(but after Naruto became Genin) or chunin exams?

A small, seven year old Naruto walked in the streets of Konoha, ignoring the hateful stares he got from all of the adults around him. He ignored those harsh whispers that filled his ears and over all, ignored the world around him. That’s all he can do until he becomes a ninja. Maybe then he will get the acknowledgement, maybe he will finally crawl out of this hole that the villagers dug and push him into.

Then again, maybe not.

He walked up to his apartment and unlocked the door, walking inside and shutting the door behind him. He took in the empty room before sighing and walking into his bedroom. He sat on the bed and slipped his sandals off and layed down on the bed. His eyes slowly close before he fell asleep.

* * *

 

The first thing he hears was water dripping from somewhere.

He opens his eyes before looking at his surroundings. He was standing in water that came up to his ankles and he was in some type of...enclosed space. In front of him was a large gate, very large and he couldn’t see into it. The whole place was dark and to be honest...he was a tiny bit afraid.

“H-hello?” Naruto called out. 

**-I did not expect you until a few more years for now.-** A deep voice resounded behind the gate, causes Naruto to yelp and look into the blackness. He could now see slitted red eyes staring down at him.

“W-Who are you?” swallowed Naruto.

**-I am Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox and I am sealed inside of you.-**

“Y-you're the one who attacked...is that why the villagers treat me like they do?”

**-Yes. I am the reason. Now, if you want, I can make those people pay when your olde--**

“No, I don’t want that. I don’t want you killing anyone or destroying the village, I’m planning on being the Hokage and make everyone acknowledge and respect me!” Naruto declared, making Kyuubi look down at him in slight surprise.

**-You really are a strange kit, aren’t you?-** the fox chuckled before putting his muzzle and face into the light.

“You're a big fox!” Naruto yelped.

**-You really don’t want me to do anything to them, kit? Why?-**

“Think about it. If we did, we’d be proving them right. I want to prove ‘em wrong!”

**-You really are an odd one. Most humans would jump at the chance.-**

“I just...I just have to hold out hope that I’ll have people liking me soon….and maybe….have a family…”

**-Is that what you want? A family?-**

“Yes. More than anything.” Naruto could see the fox thinking for a moment before the demon went low to the ground, laying his head just above the water.

**-You will have it starting with me, kit.-**

“R-Really?!” Naruto’s eyes brightened. “That means your gonna be…!”

**-Yes, I’m now your older brother. -**

From that day forward, Kyuubi- or Kurama as he said his name was when Naruto turned ten- taught Naruto about his heritage and what really happened on that night he was sealed. He made sure Naruto didn’t tell anyone that he knew about Kurama and act shocked when someone told him about the fox. He also let Naruto know that he won’t be able to lend Naruto any of his chakra at a young age, which Naruto was okay with. He wanted to pass and become a genin on his own anyways.

And so the adventures of Naruto Uzumaki and Kurama began.


	2. Team 7 and Sensei

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might decide to go through the whole beginning but it's up to you guys if you want that. Tell me what you think about this naruto and how I'm writing him! Also, if you have any questions, go ahead and ask!
> 
> Also, I'm turn on which to be my guide, the sub or the dun but as you can see, I decided to go with the sub- but I don't know for how long.

_ ‘Do you have your ears prepared, Kura-niichan?’ _

**-Ugh, how can you STAND those girl’s squeals?-**

_ ‘I got use to it.’ _ Naruto thought to Kurama smugly as he walked into the academy, the metal of the headband that was once Iruka’s glinted in the sunlight just before he walked inside.He went inside Iruka’s classroom and sat in his spot and simply waited.

“What the- why are you here?"

Naruto looked over and saw Shikamaru standing there with his headband around his arm. “Today’s meeting is for graduates only.”

“I know.” Naruto grinned before pointing at his own. “As of today, I’m a ninja, too!”

“I’M FIRST!” Two voices shouted at the same time, making Naruto cringe slightly. It didn’t take a genius to know that it was Sakura and Ino. Naruto liked Sakura, he really did, but she was just too much like the other girls in this class- though there are a few exceptions like Hinata. He stood up once he noticed Sakura scrambling towards his direction and knew that she was going for the boy beside him. He stepped out of the way and sat at a different spot.

**-For the love of Kami, we better not get either of them-** Kurama grumbled and Naruto had to hold back his snicker.

Thankfully, Iruka walked into the classroom, not to long after. Naruto could hear a sigh of relief when the room quiet down within his mind. He couldn’t blame Kurama though, he was usually asleep while Naruto was at the academy.

“Here are the teams.” Iruka looked down at the clipboard in his hands and began to say names and team numbers. Naruto was, really, only half listening. Instead, he glanced outside before Iruka got to team seven.

“Team Seven will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno,”

“OH COME ON!” Sakura groaned.

**-...Fuck.-**

“And Sasuke Uchiha.” Iruka finished, making Sakura squeal.

**-Least the Uchiha isn’t bad.-** Kurama snorted. Naruto just simply rolled his eyes and let his mind zone out the rest of the teams that were getting announced.

“You’ll meet your senseis this afternoon, you may do as you wish until then.” Iruka stated, gaining Naruto’s attention again.

“Oi, Iruka-Sensei, does this mean you’ll treat me to Ramen until then?” Naruto asked.

“Sorry Naruto, I can’t. I still have to so other duties.” Iruka stated, looking at Naruto apologetically. 

“Oh, okay.” Naruto sighed.  He stood up and walked out of the classroom and out of the academy. He decided to go train as he awaits the afternoon to come.

* * *

 

“He’s late.”  Sakura huffed as she leaned against the desk. The room was empty, save for Naruto, her and Sasuke, the other teams already meeting their senseis.

Naruto was starting to get impatient, his leg bouncing from where he was standing by the door. He hated waiting like this. He finally got fed up and turned to open the door when it was opened from the other side. 

A silver haired Jounin walked inside, his mask covered his nose and his mouth while his headband covered his left eye, before taking the three in.

“As for my first impression of you guys...I hate all of you.” was the first thing the man said. Naruto just raised an eyebrow at him in response. “Meet me on the roof.”

With that, he was gone. Naruto was quick to get to the roof with his teammates and they sat down in front of the man.

“Introduce yourselves.” the jounin stated.

“Introduce ourselves...what should we say?” asked Sakura.

“Your likes, dislikes, your future dreams, hobbies...things like that.”

“You first.” Naruto piped up.

“Me? My name is Kakashi Hatake, I don’t feel like telling you guys about my likes and dislikes. I’ve never really thought about my future dream...as for my hobbies, I have many.”

Naruto sweat dropped. That...didn’t give them much.

“Next is you guys.” Kakashi told them before looking at Naruto. “Let’s start with you.”

“My name’s Naruto  Uzumaki. I like instant ramen, Ichiraku ramen training when I can and I like spending time with Iruka-Sensei. I dislike waiting for the three minutes before I’m allowed to eat ramen because of the boiling water. My hobbies are, of course, training, eating and comparing ramen and that’s about it. My future dream...is to become Hokage so I can be acknowledged and protect people I care about and who I find precious to me.”

He watched as Kakashi’s visible eye widen a fraction at the end of Naruto’s introduction.

“I see…Alright, next.” Kakashi glanced over to Sakura.

“I’m Sakura Haruno.” Sakura stated cheerfully. “What I like...I mean, who I like is…”

Naruto quickly zoned her out, not wanting to hear anymore. It didn’t take long for her to be finished- now, It was Sasuke’s turn and Naruto payed attention.

“My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have lots of dislikes, but I have no likes in particular. And, I don’t feel like summing up my ambitions as just a dream. But I do have an ambition. The ambition to restore my clan and without fail...to kill a certain man.”

Naruto furrowed his brow at that, wondering just who this man was.

“Good! The three of you are very distinctive and interesting! We’ll have a mission tomorrow!” Kakashi told them.

“What kind of mission?” asked Naruto.

“First, we’ll do what we can do with just four people. A survival exercise."

“Why an exercise?” asked Sakura.

“You see, of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be recognized as Genin. The remaining eighteen will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this exercise is an extremely difficult test with a failure rate of sixty-six percent or higher.”

“Shoulda known it wouldn’t be this easy.” Naruto mumbled.

“We meet at five in the morning at the training ground- also, skip breakfast. You are dismissed.”

Naruto frowned as their sensei went on his way. He stood from his spot and left his two teammates alone before jumping off of the roof and landed just in front of the academy entrance. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and began to walk, ignoring the stares he was getting. It didn’t take long for their whispers to reach his ears.

“Can you believe it? They passed that freak.” 

“I know, it’s like they want this village to be destroyed!”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and he doesn’t come back from a mission.”

Naruto tried not to let these words get to him- but it was just so hard. He didn’t want to hear the hateful words anymore, he just wanted them to stop.

**-They will see in time, kit.-** Kurama stated comfortingly.  **-They will learn to cherish you, it just takes time-**

Naruto hoped Kurama was right- he didn’t want to think about Kurama being wrong.


	3. Survival Bell Test

“YOU’RE LATE!” Sakura and Naruto both shouted once Kakashi finally showed up. Naruto was glaring at the Jounin, waiting to here what this man had to say. He and his teammates have been waiting for hours for their sensei to show up,

“Well, a black cat crossed my path, you see.” Kakashi stated.

Only thing that came from Naruto was a twitch in his eye.

“Ahem! Well,” kakashi cleared his throat before setting down the timer. “Okay, it’s set for twelve o’clock.”

Naruto watched as he pressed the switch before holding up two bells.

“Today’s assignment is to take these bells away from me by noon. Those who can’t do it won’t get lunch. They’ll be tied to that and i’ll eat my lunch before your very eyes.”

Naruto scowled as Kurama snickered from his cage.

“But, hold on.” Sakura piped up. “Why are there only two bells?”

“Hm, there are only two, so at the very least, one will have to go to the logs. That person will be disqualified for failing the mission and will return to the academy. It might be one person at the very least or it could be all three of you. You can use your shuriken. You won’t be able to take the bells unless you come with the intent to kill me.”

**-That won’t be too hard-** Kurama rumbled.

“But , that’s dangerous sir!” Sakura squeaked.

“In this world, those who aren’t skilled enough tend to complain more.” Kakashi told her. “Well, just ignore the loser. Begin when I give the “ready-go” signal.”

**-You understand what this is, don’t you?-**

_ ‘Hai, it’s for us to work as a team.’ _

**-Good luck getting your team to do that- or, are you going to act like an idiot?-**

_ ‘You know me too well- but we all know that sometimes, the idiotic plans can lead to better ones.’ _ Naruto let a grin slip onto his face.

“Ready...START!” 

The three genin jumped out of his sight. Naruto went to a river and, have making a clone, hid in a bush, awaiting Kakashi’s arrival, which didn’t take long. He watched as his clone confronted the man before running towards the Jounin before stopping  as Kakashi reached into his pouch- only to take out a...book?

_ ‘The hell…?’ _

The clone tried it’s best to hit Kakashi but the man just ended up behind the clone- and promptly did One Thousand Years of Death. 

_ ‘Oh kami…’ _

**-Good thinking, sending that clone in instead. Or else you would’ve lost your virginity.-**

_ ‘KURA-NIICHAN!’ _ Naruto yelped, his face reddening.

**-Get ready.-**

The clone poofed out of existence and Naruto could see that Kakashi wasn’t expecting it. Naruto jumped out of his hiding place(thankfully, Kakashi was in range), his hands clasped together.

_ “Wind Release: Gale Palm!” _

Kakashi whirled around- only to get hit and stumbled backwards, his eye having a shocked look in it.

_ “Kage Bushin No Jutsu!” _

Seven clones poofed all around Kakashi, causing the man to look around him, analyzing.

“They’re actual clones, not just images, this jutsu was the same one that did in Mizuki...not bad, learning an advanced ninjutsu.” Kakashi hummed.

“You haven’t seen anything yet!” Naruto grinned and they all came charging at the Jounin. He could tell Kakashi was ready, so he discreetly made another clone to go around behind Kakashi and grabbed him.

‘What?!” Kakashi’s eye widened once he felt himself being grabbed. Naruto ran towards him, grinning before throwing a punch at him- only for his fist to hit a clone.

“Oh come on!” Naruto groaned before quickly dispersing the clones.

Great, now he had to find the jackass. By the end of this test, he just had a feeling that he’s the one who will be tied up…

* * *

 

...He was a hundred percent right.

After failing the test, Kakashi calling out their hindrance and leaving, Sakura and Sasuke sat on either side of Naruto, eating their food. Naruto watched them but he didn’t complain- not one bit.  He knew it wouldn’t do any good, so he sucked it up and kept his mouth shut. His stomach, on the other hand, was a different story. He tilted his head back against the log he was tied up to and closed his eyes, his stomach growling.

“Here.”

Naruto opened his eyes and looked over at Sasuke, who was holding his food up towards him.

“S-Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei just said…” Sakura trailed off as she glanced around.

“It’s okay. There’s no sign of him now. The three of us are going to go take the bells together. It’ll be trouble for me if he becomes a hindrance so…”

Naruto...was not expecting this from Sasuke, though it did make him feel… warm somehow, like how a little brother would when an older brother would do something for him.

Sakura was next to hold her food towards him, making him look at her. “Sakura…”

She only smiled at him and stood to her full height before beginning to hand feed him, which caught Naruto off guard. He was expecting her to throw a fit because she had to- but she didn’t.

**-She would be a good medical ninja.-** Kurama mused.

“YOU THREE!” Kakashi boomed as he appeared in front of the three, looking mad. “You defied the rules so that means you know what’s coming…”

“But you see…” Naruto began.

“What?”

“You said it yourself, Kakashi-sensei! These guys…”

“We’re  a three-man team, right?” Added Sasuke.

“That’s right! The three of us are one, so…!” Sakura piped up.

“That’s right!” Naruto nodded. 

“The three of you are one, eh…” Kakashi took a few steps forward, looking at the three of them before he gave them his closed eye smile. “You pass!”

“We...passed?” Sakura asked. “Why?!”

“You guys are the first. Up until now, it was always just dunces who would meekly listen to what I said. A ninja must see through deception...in the world of ninja, those who break rules and codes are scum, but...those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.”

Kakashi came over and cut the rope, freeing Naruto. “That’s all for today, tomorrow we will start missions.”

Naruto grinned before watching his team starting to walk away.

**-Your family just got bigger.-**

_ ‘Seems like it.’ _   
Naruto quickly started to walk, catching up to his team, a beaming smile on his face.


	4. Not so Regular C Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a little early BUT what Sakura pairings do you want to see when we get into Shippuden? As well as possible other ships?

Naruto was really starting to hate D-rank missions.

He didn’t mind them, he just wished that his team would be able to do higher ranked missions. The Hokage always said no, every time- this time though, he FINALLY said yes, with some persuasion from Naruto’s end.

It was a C-rank mission, to be bodyguard for someone- who turned out to be Tazuna, a veteran bridge builder that they have to escort to the Land of the Waves. Naruto..did not like this man one bit- mostly because of what he said when they first met. So, he walked ahead of everyone as they walked, making sure there was a space between him and the man.

Naruto mostly ignored Kakashi’s explanation of the nations and such and, instead, put his senses to the test.

He could hear water in a streams, the leaves rustling, could smell nearby animals going on their daily activities. He could smell and hear about everything, even the creaks from a small wooden bridge they walked on. Everything- the smell, the sounds- were normal for a forest, Until he smelled an odd scent of a human.

 **-Puddle we just walked past. That’s where the scent’s coming from-** Kurama told him.

_‘So much for a regular boring mission.’_

After Kakashi passed the puddle, the two mist ninjas attacked.

They wrapped their chain around him and pulled, tearing the man to pieces- or so they thought. Naruto knew better, so he wasn’t distracted, which gave him the advantage once the two appeared behind him.

“The second one…” He heard one stated and as he turned, he saw the chain moving.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke jumping into the air and throwing a shuriken, trapping the chain against a tree before he threw a Kunai, successfully immobilizing the chain. The boy landed on the ninjas’ arms and then kicked them in the face. There was a noise the the chain fall broke off from their places on the ninjas and they split, one going for Sakura and Tazuna while the other went towards Naruto.

Naruto quickly jumped backwards to avoid the swipe- but his hand still got sliced- and quickly clasped his hands together.

_“Wind Release: Gale Palm!”_

The mist ninja was sent stumbling back and then Kakashi appeared behind the ninja and rendered him unconscious before he appeared in front of the other three and stopping that ninja.

“Naruto, sorry I didn’t help you right away. I got you hurt.” Kakashi looked back at the said boy and Naruto just rolled his eyes.

“Better late than never.” The boy muttered.

“Anyhow, let me just say, good job, Sasuke. You too, Sakura.”

Naruto watched, feeling annoyed. It wasn’t like he didn’t do anything, he used his gale palm- though, he suspected, could be seen as him trying to get the other away while frightened.

“Oi, are you hurt...” Sasuke piped up, causing Naruto to look at him and saw that Sasuke was looking over at him with a goddamn smirk. “Scaredy cat?”

“I’ll show you scaredy cat!” Naruto snarled as he took a step forward, but stopped when Kakashi called his name sternly.

“Naruto! These guys have poison on their claws. You need to take out the poison quickly. You have to open the wound and drain the poisoned blood. Don’t move so much or the poison will spread.”

Naruto growled before looking at his wound. Damn it.

“By the way, Tazuna-san…” Kakashi hummed.

“W-what is it?” Tazuna stammered.

“I have something to talk to you about.” Kakashi went over to a tree and tied a rope around the two ninjas and, after taking care of the two, looked at Tazuna.

“Why’d you leave it to the Genin to fight?” Tazuna asked.

“I could have killed these two instantly, but I would have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was.”

“What do you mean?”

“In other words, I had to know if they were targeting you, or one of us Shinobi. When you put it your request, you left being targeted by ninjas out. It would have been categorized as a  B-rank mission or higher. Being lied to in the requested, without a good reason, is not acceptable. This is beyond the scope of our mission.”

“This mission is too soon for us,” Sakura spoke up. “We can let a team higher than us handle this and besides, we need to treat Naruto’s wound and open it up. We had to go back-”

“Dobe, what are you doing?” Sasuke spoke once he saw Naruto taking out a kunai, gaining the other’s attention.

Naruto ignored him and stabbed the knife into the wound, grunting from the pain.

“Naruto! What’re you doing?!” Sakura shouted as she took a few steps forward.

“I’m fine.” Naruto grunted before he took the kunai out. “We need to continue this mission. We can’t go back now.”

“Naruto, it’s all good you’re getting rid of the poison,” began Kakashi. “But you’re bleeding to death.”

“I said I’m fine.” Naruto snapped before looking down at his wound. “I just need to wrap it and I should be good.”

“Give me your hand.” Kakashi knelt down and held his hand out and Naruto did as he was instructed. He could see Kakashi’s eye widen and knew that his wound was already healing.

Kakashi took out some bandages and wrapped them around Naruto’s hand. Once he was finished,he straightened up. “Well, look’s like we will be continuing this mission, let’s go.”


	5. Zabuza and Teamwork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I can't do fight scenes at all. Also, will have other notes at the end to explain a thing I think. Hopefully, you guy's won't get turned off by the thing I put in there, of so, forgive me!

Naruto sat in a bout with his team and client, trying to see through the thick layer of fog- which was impossible. They has just passed the unfinished bridge and was now in The Land of the Waves. He could hear Kakashi talking to Tazuna and just blocked it out.

_‘Ne, Kura-niichan?’_

**-Yes, kit?-**

Naruto bit his lip before continuing on. _‘I know I’m a little too young to be asking this but...in the future, do I have to fall for someone specific?’’_

 **-you’re right, you are too young to be asking this.-** Naruto could hear the teasing in the others voice.

_‘Kura-niichan!’_

**-Calm down, I understand why you asked that with you’re traveling. I suppose that it could be predetermined in terms of being like you. It’s highly likely that your other will be a Jinjuriki since it would make sense. Of course, it could be a regular human.-**

_‘So, I just have to wait until I meet with one?’_

**-Yes. Although, I believe, you won’t feel anything such as love until you reach a certain age. Possibly fifteen to seventeen.-**

_‘Does it matter which….’_

**-Gender? No.-**

_‘And...uh...if we wanted…’_

**-A child? My, my, getting a little ahead of yourself?-** Naruto heard Kurama chuckle. **-If it’s another male, and since you’ll be the strongest out of you and him since you have me as which your body adapted to be more stronger and possibly more durable, my chakra will change your body further so you can bear children.  Aren’t you regretful now that you asked?-**

_‘Yes. So much.’_

**-You asked, little kit. Besides, would you rather know BEFORE you meet this person, or for something to happen, you meeting the person and you can’t get information out of me?-**

_‘...point taken.’_

“Naruto.”

Naruto blinked looked behind him, looking at Kakashi.

“We’re here.” his sensei continued just as the boat went through a tunnel. As they got through the other side, sun shined in his eyes and there was no traces of fog. He could see trees and houses lining either side of them and, once they find a house to dock, they got out and now, they were on their way. They walked out of the small town and down a path within the woods.

As they walked, Naruto couldn’t help but get the feeling that there was something...weird going on. He have been hearing things going through the bushes and he kept it to himself until he threw a kunai in the pushes, startling the others.

“Naruto, what are you doing?!” screeched Sakura.

“Someone have been targeting us, I just know it.” Naruto replied. He watched as Kakashi walked through the bushes to where Naruto threw his kunai with Sakura and Naruto in toe.

“Naruto! What have you done!” Sakura snapped once she saw the bunny.  

“Why is it white?” Naruto frowned. “That would only be a good color if it’s winter.”

“Everyone!” Kakashi shouted. “Get down!”

Naruto threw himself onto the ground just as a giant sword flew over their heads and impeded itself into a tree. He jumped to his feet and looked over at the sword- only to see a man standing on the handle, glaring down at them.

“Well, well,” Kakashi took a few steps forward. “If it isn’t the Rogue Ninja of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi.”

“Kakashi-sensei-” Began Naruto but he was cut off.

“Get back.”

“Bu-”

“He’s on a totally different level from the guys from the other day.”

“I assume you are Kakashi, the Sharingan user…” Zabuza spoke to the for the first time. “Sorry but… I’ll have you hand over the old man.”

“Get in Manji battle formation. Protect Tazuna...Don’t involve yourselves in the fight. That's the teamwork in this situation.” Kakashi told them as he lifted the part of the headband that was covering his eye revealing it to be scarred. The eye flew open, revealing a red iris with three black commas around the pupil.

“Well now, I never expected to see the rumored Sharingan this soon...this is an honor.” Zabuza turned towards the group.

_“That’s the Sharingan?”_

**-Hai. Although, I am curious on how this man got it.-**

That’s when a fog rolled in. It wasn’t heavy, just a light haze.

“Let’s end the talking here. I must kill that old man immediately.” Zabuza stated and the three genin was quick to position themselves in front of the old man.

“But, Kakashi, it seems I have to defeat you first.” Zabuza grabbed his sword and then disappeared, reappearing on the lake that was not too far from them before, again, disappearing.

“Sensei!” Sakura piped up as she saw Kakashi walking towards the lake.

“He’ll probably come to erase me first…”

“What is he?"

“Zabuza Momochi. He’s a Anbu Black Ops member in the Hidden Mist and is know as “the silent killing” technique expert. As the name suggests...it’s a killing skill that’s implemented in an instant in silence. By the time you realize it, it’s possible you may find yourself in the afterlife. I haven’t totally mastered the use of my Sharingan, so don’t lower your guard. Well, if we fail, we’ll only die.”

“How can you be so carefree about this?!” Sakura snapped before the mist started to get thicker, making the three loose sight of Kakashi. It didn’t last long as Kakashi cleared the fog that was covering he and his students.

“Sasuke, don’t worry. I’ll protect you with my life.” Kakashi suddenly spoke up.He looked at them with a closed eye smile. “I will not allow my comrades to get killed.”

“I wonder about that.” Zabuza stated and he was suddenly in between Tazuna and the genins. Naruto felt his instincts kick in and, before anyone could do anything, made quick hand signs.

_OX- DOG-RAM_

_“Wind Release: Wind Wall!”_

A vortex swirled around Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna, effectively trapping the Zabuza with it. “NOW!”

Kakashi understood in an instant and bolted, stabbing Zabuza. Naruto released the wind wall and the four jumped away from the two. As Naruto looked closely, he could see that it was water, not blood, that was pouring from Zabuza.

“Behind you!” Naruto warned as he saw Zabuza behind Kakashi, the clone in front dispersing. Zabuza sliced Kakashi in half. Kakashi dispersed and turned into water, much like Zabuza’s water clone.

Kakashi appeared behind the man, a kunai near his neck.

“Don’t move!” Kakashi ordered. “It’s over.”

“Did you say it’s over?” Zabuza chuckled. “You don’t understand, do you? You won’t be able to beat me just by making like a money...no chance. But, I must say, you’re good. My Mizu Bushin no Jutsu was being copied at that point...By letting the clone talk a if it were you, you succeeded in distracting me.”

That’s when the real fighting began that eventually ended up in the water with Kakashi in a ball of water with Zabuza maintaining it with a hand that was connected to the ball. He had created a water clone that was staring the genin down.

“You three! Take Tazuna and run!” Kakashi ordered, his tone stern. “You have no chance against this guy! As long as he has me trapped in this jutsu, he won’t be able to move from here and he shouldn’t be able to use the clone if he’s far enough away from his real body. In any case, just run for now!”

“Don’t make me laugh, Kakashi-sensei.” Naruto spoke, causing everyone to look at him. “Running away won’t do squat for us. Besides, either we are getting out of here with you or we aren’t getting out of here at all!”

Naruto looked over at Sasuke. “Oi, Teme. I have a plan.”

“You talking about teamwork?” Sasuke questioned.

“Of course. Now, let’s go wild!”

“Such loud snorting, but do you have a winning plan?” the clone chuckled.

The clone was suddenly in front of Sasuke, elbowing him to the ground before elbowing him again in the stomach and then put his foot down on Sasuke’s stomach.

_“Kage Bushin no Jutsu!”_

Shadow clones surrounded the clone as they appear.

“Ah, Kage Bushin no Jutsu, and there are quite a few of them.” The clone hummed. They all pulled out kunais before jumping into the air but the water clone just swept them away, making every one of them go flying back. Naruto, dug into his pack before taking out large closed shuriken and throwing it up.

“Sasuke!”

The Uchiha grabbed it and opened it.  “Fuma Shuriken. Windmill of shadows…”

He went into the air and threw it at the real Zabuza, who grabbed it while another Shuriken made it’s way towards him. He jumped at the last minute, doing it.

The shuriken transformed into Naruto, a kunai in hand. He threw the said kunai right at Zabuza’s upper back, causing Zabuza to move sideways to avoid it, breaking the connection to the prison and making the kunai hit the water clone. Although, the man didn’t get out unscathed. He had a small cut under his eye, shocking mostly everyone.

As Naruto was falling towards the water, he could see the Shuriken spinning as Zabuza turned towards him, moving.

“You little brat!” Snarled Zabuza as he brought the spinning blade up. Kakashi moved in front of him, an arm raised and the blade dug into the back of his fist. Naruto splashed down into the water before surfacing and grinned.

“Naruto...your strategy was outstanding.” Kakashi praised. “You’ve grown up...both of you.”

Naruto beamed at his sensei in happiness.

**-Don’t let your guard down, kit. This fight isn’t over.-**

_‘Don’t worry, I know.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who's wondering about the MPreg: It's still far away into the future- past shippuden. This is the only time it is mentioned for a long while. Hopefully, the explanation I gave as to how it can happen is good enough....and I just want Boruto to still be Naruto's biological son. If you have any question about it or any other thing, please go ahead and ask!


	6. The Genins from Suna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda skipped the rest of the land of the waves arc because I didn't know what else to change since its all pretty much the same. I probably did pretty bad on the beginning but I hope you don't mind. No, onward to the chapter!

The mission in the Land of the Waves was finally finished and ended on a bitterly sweet note with both Zabuza and Haku dying- Haku for Zabuza and Zabuza for Haku. At least, it was bitterly sweet to Naruto. Though there was one good thing that came out of it, he got the newly built bridge named after him. It felt...good...to be honest, to finally get recognized.

Now, they had just finished all of their D-Rank missions for the day and Sasuke and Kakashi had just left to do whatever it is they were going to do. Naruto stayed behind with Sakura, mentally talking to Kurama until he paused, smelling a rather familiar scent coming from behind him and he glanced.

_ ‘...What the hell…’ _

**-Looks like that little brat is back.-** chuckles Kurama.

_ ‘He’s...trying to pretend...to be a rock?’ _ Naruto’s brow twitched.

“There’s no such thing of a perfectly square rock with perfect holes.” He told him, not even trying to walk or run away. “It’s rather obvious.”

“Just what you’d expect from the man I respect!” a muffled voice came from within the ‘rock’. “You are my rival, aren’t you!”

I watched as the thing exploded, revealing three coughing kids. Konohamaru spoke up first. “That was too much gun powder!”

“With an adult sexiness, I’m Moegi of the senior class at kunoichi preschool!” the girl exclaimed while posing.

“I love factoring!” the boy that wasn’t Konohamaru started. “Udon!”

“The most brilliant ninja in the village, Konohamaru!”

“The three of us together are the Konohamaru Gang!” The three announced together. “Here we are!”

“I knew it was you and your friends.” Naruto deadpanned before noticing something. “Huh? Why are you all wearing goggles?”

“We’re just copying what you used to do, niichan!” grinned Konohamaru.

“Oh...” Naruto blinked.

“So, leader, do you have some free time now?” asked Moegi.

“Sorry, but I have to train.”

“What?! But you said you’d play ninja with us today!” Konohamaru cried.

“Why would a ninja play ninja?” mumbled Sakura as she walked over to the four. She stopped and just stared at Naruto for a moment before Konohamaru spoke up.

“Niichan, who’s she?” he paused before his face lit up and started to tug on Naruto’s jacket. “You’ve been busier than I though, niichan.”

“Huh?” Naruto looked down at him.

“Is she your…” Konohamaru stuck up his pinky. “...This?”

“Wha...uh…” Naruto was stumbling over his words, caught off guard of the kid’s gesture and meaning. 

“NO WAY!” Sakura shrieked and punched Naruto, sending him into a fence. 

“What are you doing?!” yelled Konohamaru.

“Leader!” called Moegi as she and Udon ran up to him as he layed on his front.

“You ugly wetch! Ugly wetch!”

Naruto heard Konohamaru scream before the both of them got hit on the head by Sakura and as they got up, she was walking away.

“Darn that broad forehead ugly wench! Is she a girl for real?” Konohamaru groaned, causing Sakura to stop and the four look at her. She slowly turned towards them with one of the most scariest look on her face.

“Shit!” Naruto yelped when he saw her starting to run at them and they quickly turned and ran away, Konohamaru running faster and up ahead. The chase didn’t last long however as the boy slammed into an unknown ninja, landing on his ass.

“Are you okay, Konohamaru?” Naruto scrambled over to him, ignoring the two ninjas.

“That hurt.” stated the ninja in all black. Naruto saw a hand reaching for his younger friend and quickly smacked the hand away.

“Don’t touch him.” Naruto growled, stepping in front of Konohamaru.

“A tough guy huh? Let’s see how tough you really are."

“You’ll get yelled at later.” the kunoichi told the other.

“I’m sorry,” Sakura hesitantly apologized, trying to defuse the situation. “I was fooling around with them…”

“Let’s play with them before the strict one comes around.” grinned the ninja.

Naruto’s eyes narrowed as he clenched his fists. The ninja continued to grin as he reached forward and gripped the front of Naruto’s jacket.

“It’s not on me.” Naruto heard the kunoichi sighed from behind the ninja. Naruto paid her no heed though, just continued to watch the ninja with a glare. He watched as the ninja rose his fist up, reading to punch the genin.

Of course, the ninja never got the chance to as a small rock was sent flying from a tree and struck his wrist, making him let Naruto and clutched where the rock hit.

“What do you think you're doing in someone else’s village?” Sasuke stated from his perch on a branch, tossing a rock in his hand. This gave Naruto enough time to back away from the ninja.

“Niichan!” Konohamaru scrambled over to Naruto, gripping onto his pant leg.

“Another punk to tick me off!” sneered the ninja.

“Get lost!” Sasuke ordered, crushing the rock that was still in his hand, turning into dust.

“Wow, you’re lame.” Konohamaru told Naruto, making the genin scoff.

“Gee, thanks.” Naruto grumbled.

“Oi! Come down here, you little punk!” the ninja snapped up at Sasuke. “You’re the kind of smart aleck little punk that I despise the most.”

“Wait!” the kunoichi cut in once her comrade took whatever on his back off. “You aren’t thinking of using crow, are you?!”

“Kankuro, stop that.” a toneless voice came from the branch that was on the opposite side of the trunk that Sasuke was sitting on. They all looked and saw a redheaded boy with a gourd on his back standing upside down.

“You’re an embarrassment to our village.” the redhead continued.

“G-Gaara…” Kankuro swallowed, obviously scared of this newcomer. 

“Why do you think we came all the way to Konoha?”

“P-please listen to me, Gaara. T-they lashed out first…”

“Shut up!”

Kankuro flinched.

“I’ll kill you.”

“U-understood, I was wrong. I-I’m sorry... really, really sorry.”

The redhead turned his attention to the Konoha ninjas. “I’m sorry about that…”

In a whirl of sand, he was next Kankuro, taking the others by surprise. He looked at the two. “Let’s go. We didn’t come here to play around.”

“Hold it!” Sakura took a few steps forward.

“What is it?” the kunoichi asked.

“Judging from your headbands, you’re ninjas from Suna, right? Without question, the land of fire and the land of wind are allied nations, but the arbitrary coming and going ninjas is suppose to be prohibited by the treaty. State your purpose! Depending on circumstances..”

The three turned back towards them and kunoichi spoke up. “Hmph. So this is what they mean by the darkest place being under the candlestick. Don’t you know anything about it?”

She held up a small paper to them. “My permit! As you say, we’re Suna Genins from the Land of Wind. We came to this village to take the Chunin Exams.”

“Chunin Exams...I heard about that before…” Naruto muttered, trying to think just where he heard about it.

“You really don’t know anything, do you?”

“Niichan, if you pass the exam, you can become a Chunin.” Konohamaru supplied.

“Now I remember! Iruka-sensei was telling a story about it but I wasn’t listening at the time. Thanks, Konohamaru!” Naruto grinned. “Maybe I’ll try taking them!”

“Oi!” Sasuke jumped down and landed in front of the others just as the three Suna Genin started to turn to walk away. “You there…What’s your name?”

“Huh? M-me?” the Kunoichi looked at him.

“No. The one with the gourd next to you.”

“I am Gaara of the Desert...I’m curious about you as well.” Gaara turned towards him. “Your name?”

“Sasuke Uchiha.”

Naruto reigned in his urge to speak in that moment when Sasuke and Gaara stared each other down. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to so badly and it didn’t help that Kurama was snickering the back of his mind.

He watched as Gaara stared at Sasuke for another long moment before his eyes trailed over and locked onto Naruto’s.

“And you?”

Naruto blinked before realizing that this Genin wanted know his name- which was a shock to him. He quickly got over it though and plastered a grin on his face.

“My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I’m going to be Hokage!”

He heard the other two Genin snicker and Sakura grumbling about him but Gaara didn’t do anything, he just stood there, staring. It was at this time he felt...something, something he couldn't explain and he wondered if Gaara felt it to.

Then, it was gone and the three Suna Genin was off on their way, leaving the Konoha Genin and students thre.

**-Congratulations, Kit.-** Snickered Kurama.

_ ‘What?’ _

**-You just formed some sort of connection with that brat!-**

_ ‘What?!’ _

**-By the way, he’s like you. He currently holds the one tailed beast, Shukaku, within him.-**

_ ‘WHAT?!’ _


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write something at least one more chapter before the Chunin exams and this is all I thought up. Sorry if it's rather short! Also, I have no chapter name for it. Anyways, enjoy!

After the encounter with the three Suna ninjas, Naruto went off, leaving Sasuke and Sakura behind and was being followed by Konohamaru and his two friends. He wasn’t use to be followed like this to be honest, Especially by younger kids. It's going to take some getting use to.

As they walked, The three kids were talking to Naruto about a multitude of things and he did listen, but he could also hear the hushed voices of the villagers around them, questioning the Hokage’s wisdom of letting his grandson around their resident demon.

_ ‘Kura-niichan, if they try anything and I get hurt, don’t heal me right away, wait until we get into a safe spot to do it.’ _

**-You sure about this, Kit?-**

_ ‘Hai.’ _

**-Fine, but if they hurt you too much, I will start healing you early.-**

“Oi, Oniichan?” piped up Konohamaru. “I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Why are the villagers giving you this nasty look and whispering?”

“I’m not well liked in the village.” Naruto muttered.

“What? Why?”

“Because he is a demon!” shouted one man who stepped out in front of their path, making the whispering stop. “You and your two friends shouldn’t be around him!”

“Hey, shut up! Niichan is great! Don’t call him a demon either!” Konohamaru and his friends latched onto Naruto’s legs, all three were glaring at the man.

After a moment of silence, the whispering started up again and it was worse this time. He could hear accusations towards him, about how he put three kids under his spell and so on.

“Come on you three, we have to get going.” Naruto murmured to them. As they were going to walk away, something hard hit his back, he stumbled forward, gasping in pain.

“Niichan!” cried Konohamaru, his eyes wide.

“What’s the big idea?!” Udon shouted at the teenager behind Naruto. The teenager held a wooden board in his hands.

“Shut up, kid!” Sneered the teenager. “He is a demon and I’ll prove it to you!”

He swung the board and struck Naruto again, causing Naruto to fall to his knees. He gritted his teeth, holding back his defencive urges. He was not going to give in and seemingly prove this teenager correct, he just couldn’t.

The board struck again, and again before it was stopped. Naruto looked over his shoulder and stared at the wall of sand that had flown up between he and the teen.

**-Looks like he accepted the connection as well.-**

_ ‘Accepted?’ _

**-Yes, both sides must be accepted for it to continue to exist and not fall away. Although, he might have subconsciously.-**

Naruto watched as the sand slipped around the board and squeezed, breaking through the wood instantly.

The teen yelped, letting go of the board and jumping back away from the sand. The sand dropped to the ground before sliding back to it’s owner, who was standing at the end of the road, his arms crossed and staring the teen down.

“I advise you not to do that again.” Gaara told him emotionlessly.

The teen quickly scampered off, leaving everyone else there. All the villagers that witnessed the whole thing was in shock, as well as the three academy students who haven’t left Naruto’s side. Gaara took one last look at Naruto before walking away.

“That was weird.” Konohamaru mumbled.

“Go ahead, you three. I need to go to my apartment and rest.” Naruto winced.

“But-” Udon began to talk but Naruto cut him off.

“Go, I’ll be fine.” He began to stumbled away towards his apartment, wincing as pain shot up his back.


	8. Wrong Floor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M STILL WORKING ON THIS DON'T WORRY!

“You're late, Sakura.” Naruto piped up as he stood beside Sasuke outside the academy. Their pink haired teammate was walking towards them, not speaking until she stood in front of the two.

“Yeah, sorry....” Sakura blushed a little before looking at Sasuke. “Good morning, Sasuke-kun.”

“Yeah…” was all that Sasuke stated.

“Now that we’re all here, let’s go!” Naruto grinned and started to march inside the building, Sakura and Sasuke walking behind him.

When they reached the supposedly third floor, there was a disturbance in front of one of the doorways. They went into the crowd and to the front and saw two boys standing there, not moving for anyone.

“Also, a Chunin is at the level of unit leader.” One boy was saying. “Mission Failures, death of subordinates, it’s all part of the responsibilities of a leader! A brat such as this, a Chunin?”

“What’s so bad about weeding out those who won’t pass anyway?” questioned the brown haired boy.

“A just argument.” Sasuke cut in. “However, you will let me through. And could you also immediately undo this barrier created with genjutsu? I have business on the third floor.”

“Well, well…” hummed the raven haired boy.

“So, you noticed, eh?” asked the brown haired boy.

“How about it, Sakura?” Sasuke looked at both of them. “You should’ve been the first to realize it.”

“Eh?” Sakura looked at him.

“Your analytical strength and Genjutsu know-how has improved the most in our team, so…”

“Sasuke-kun…” She stared at him for a moment before smiling. “Thank you. Of course, I realized it ages ago! You see, this is the second floor.”

“Yep.” Naruto nodded and the door number changed from 301 to 201.

“Well, not bad.” spoke the raven haired boy. “But all you’ve done is to catch on. Right?”

The boy swung is leg and Sasuke swung his own in response, but before the kicks could connect, someone was suddenly there, blocking the two kicks with his arms.

**-He’s a fast one.-** Kurama hummed as Sasuke and the other boy dropped their legs, staring at the boy with the bowl cut and rather bushy eyebrows.

“Hey, this isn’t what you promised.” Two genin, probably the kid’s teammates walked over to him. “You were the one who said that you didn’t want to carelessly attract attention and be watched.”

“But…” the boy looked over towards Sakura before walking over to her. “My name’s Rock Lee. Your name’s Sakura, right?”

Sakura just blinked at him, confused. Lee grinned, light red on his cheeks and he held a thumbs up to her. 

“Please go out with me! I’ll protect you until I die!” he explained

“Absolutely...not.”

Lee instantly looked heartbroken at that. Naruto felt rather bad for the guy, to be honest.

“You’re...too intense.” Sakura explained, causing Lee to slump.

“Hey, you there.” a long, brown-haired leaf genin walked up to Sasuke, his pale, pupiless eyes regarding the Uchiha. “Identify yourself.”

“When asking someone his name, give your own name first.” Sasuke advised, turning towards the others.

“You’re a...rookie, right? How old are you?”

“I’m not obliged to answer.”

“What…?”

“Now then! Sasuke, Naruto, let’s go!” Sakura smiled as Sasuke walked over to his teammates. Sakura grabbed both Sasuke and Naruto hands and lead them away from the others and to the stairs, in which they started to climb. 

“Oi, Sakura?”

“Yeah, Naruto?”   


Naruto stayed quiet for a moment before speaking up again. “You’re great at chakra control right? Especially when you train more with it?”

“Well duh, why?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking...and after these exams, you could try and learn medical jutsu.”

“Medical jutsu? Why?”

“Well think about it, you could heal us when we get injured and that would save time.” From the corner of his eye, he could see her began to ponder on his words. “It’s up to you, though. It was just a suggestion.”

“I’ll think about it.” 

Naruto smile, nodding before staring straight ahead.


	9. Welcome to the Chunin Exams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Hopefully, this chapter will make up for it! Enjoy! Also, you guys don't mind I skip ever so often, right? I'm sorry that I do, please forgive me!

After the interesting encounter with Rock Lee and Might Guy, They continued on. They headed towards the correct room and in front of them was Kakashi, standing there and surveying them.

“I see,” their sensei began. “Sakura, you’ve come too. Now, you can formally register for the Chunin Exam.”

“What do you mean?” questioned Sakura.

“Actually, from the start, only three-man squad could apply and take the exams.”

“But...Sensei, you said that the decisions to take the exams was up to the individual.”

“Yes, I said that.” Kakashi hummed.

“Were you lying?”

“Yes, I was.” He glanced out the window. “If I said that, Sasuke and Naruto would probably forcefully convince you to take it. Even if didn’t have the will to apply, if Sasuke asks you, you would attempt to take the exam halfheartedly. For Sasuke’s sake and Naruto’s.”

“Then if…it was only Naruto and Sasuke-kun who had come here?” Sakura asked.

“I would’ve stopped the exam here. I wouldn’t have felt like letting them go beyond this point. But, you guys came here on your own free will. Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke I’m glad you came.” Kakashi smiled at them. “You’re a team I’m proud of. Now then, go."

Once Kakashi moved away and the three stepped up to the door. Sakura and Sasuke opened it and they walked in with Naruto shutting the door.

The room was filled with Genin from all lands and they all looked pretty strong. Naruto made sure to not waver though, even when he heard his female teammate gulp.

“Sasuke-kun, you’re late!” a sudden voice shouted and then there was Ino who jumped on Sasuke’s back, arms wrapping around his neck. “I thought I’d be able to see you for the first time in a while, so I was waiting in excitement.”

“Get away from Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!” Sakura snapped at the other girl.

“Oh my, it’s Sakura. Your billboard brow hasn’t changed, eh...ugly!”

“What did you say?!”

“What’s up with this?” Shikamaru walked up to them with Choji. “Are you guys taking this bothersome exam, too?”

“Pretty much.” Naruto nodded.

“Sasuke is mine.” Ino told Sakura, ignoring her teammates.

“Yahoo! I found you!” Kiba stated as he and his team walked over to them. “My, my, everybody’s here.”

“H...hello.”Hinata greeted. Naruto knew that Hinata used to have a crush on him but, before they graduated from the academy, he managed to catch up and talk to her about everything and now, they were kind of friends. 

“What did you say?” asked  Shikamaru. “You guys, too? Man!”

“Ha! I see.” Kiba hummed.”This means all nine Genin rookies are taking the exams. Now then...how far can we go? Eh, Sasuke?”

“Hmph, you’re mighty confident, Kiba.” Sasuke smirked.

“We’ve trained a great deal, so...we won’t lose to you guys!”

“Ooi, stop thinking you already won. I’m not going to lose to the likes of you.” Naruto spoke up.

“I’m sorry, Naruto-kun…” Hinata mumbled slightly. “Kiba-kun didn’t mean it like that…”

Kiba looked over at Hinata with a questionable look. He looked over at Choji who was taking a few steps forward but Shino stopped him, making sure that the other didn’t step on a bug.

“Hey, you guys.” a voice called, making them look over. A silver haired Konoha Genin with glasses was walking towards them. “You should be a little quieter. You guys are the ‘rookie nine’, fresh out of the academy, right? Carrying on like that with cute faces...man. This isn’t a field trip."

“Who are you?” questioned Ino. “Acting all haughty!”

“I’m Kabuto Yakushi. Anyway, take a good look around you.”

They did what they were told and they could see ninja’s from various villages staring at them in annoyance.

“Behind you...They’re from Amegakure. They’re hot-tempered. Everyone’s tense before the exam. I thought I’d warn you guys before you get your butts whipped. I guess it can’t be helped.”

Naruto looked over at Kabuto with a slight frown. Who the hell does this guy think he is…

“You’re rookies who don’t know left from right. You remind me of my old self.”

“Is this your second time?” Sakura questioned.

“No. It’s my seventh time.”

Naruto’s jaw almost flopped opened at that. SEVENTH?!

“Huh?” Shikamaru voiced his confusion.

“This Exam is only held twice a year, so it’s my fourth year.” Kabuto explained.

“Then, that means you know a lot about these exams?” questioned Sakura.

“Kind of…”

“Ha! No kidding! Kabuto-oniichan, you’re pretty awesome, huh?” Naruto grinned at the older boy.

“But you haven’t passed.” Shikamaru eyed Kabuto.

Kabuto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Yeah, well, that is the case, yes…”

“Is the Chunin Exam that high of a hurtle…? Man, utterly troublesome.”

“Then, maybe I’ll give just a bit of information to my cute juniors.” Kabuto put a hand into his pouch before pulling out a...deck of cards? “With these Ninja Info Cards.”

“Ninja...Info Cards?” Sakura frowned.

“To put it simply, They’re cards that have information burned into them and coded with Chakra.” Kabuto leaned down and put the deck on the floor. “I spent four whole years gathering information for this exam. There are close to two hundred of these cards.”

He grabbed to top card and flipped it over, revealing its blank side. “They are pure white to the eye. To open the data on these cards…”

“What are you doing?” Sakura asked as the older boy put a finger on the card and started to spin it around.

“The way it works is that no one can see the info without using my Chakra. For example, like this.” He made a one-handed seal and then, there was suddenly what looked like to be a map of the card and some information. “The number of test-takers and participating nations and the number of applicants from each respective nations is individually displayed. Why do you think that the Chunin Exam is jointly conducted in the first place?”

There was nothing coming from the group- except for the rustling of Choji’s bag and his eating.

“It’s said it’s done to deepen friendship among nations first and boost the ninja levels, second.”

“‘It’s said?’” Sasuke tilted his head.

“That’s right. The real aim is in the checking  of neighboring nations and keeping power balance equal.”

“Power...equal, hm?” Naruto rubbed his chin, making Kabuto glance ever so slightly at him.

“Why such troublesome things?” Shikamaru watched Kabuto, trying to figure out the answer in his head.

This is around the time where Naruto started to tune everything else though he was half listening. He could hear  Kabuto’s explaining Rock Lee and Gaara and than the villages.

_ ‘Kura-niichan, What do you think about all of this? Do you think I’m…ready?’ _

**-Tch, of course you are. If you hadn’t done well on your first life and death mission, I’d be saying differently. Though, I suggest you do something before your female teammate mistakes your silence as fear.-**

Naruto stilled before turning around to the rest of the occupants in the room, deciding to go for the load and rash approach. “My name’s Naruto Uzumaki! I won’t lose to any of you, got it!”

**-...You’re an idiot.-**

_ ‘Yeah, probably. But you love me anyway.’  _ Naruto grinned, ignoring  the arguing that was going on behind him between Sakura and Ino. “Ah, I feel better.”

He turned towards the others and saw that both Sasuke and Kabuto were smiling at him.

“I won’t lose to any of you, you say?” Questioned Kiba. “You said it."

“That idiot…” Shikamaru sighed. “In no time at all, he’s made enemies of his surroundings.

**-Kit, get ready!-** Kurama suddenly sounded in his head.  **-Some team wants to play early.-**

Naruto’s body tensed as he felt the air around him move with movement and than someone was in the air, throwing Kunai at Kabuto who dodged. Another was suddenly in front of the grey haired Genin, sleeve rolled up, revealing something metal around his forearm.

Before he could swing, Naruto moved and kicked this ninja in the head, making him stumble away with a shocked, pained noise. 

“Don’t you dare try to harm Kabuto-oniichan again!” Naruto snarled, crouched in front of the said Genin. A deep growl vibrated within his throat, his eyes narrowed and he was baring his teeth. His blue eyes had small specks of red in them, barely noticeable.

The Sound ninja that was going to attack Kabuto narrowed his eye in anger. “Why you little…”

A hand settled itself on Naruto’s back, making him glance at it and than at the owner who turned out to be Kabuto. 

“It’s okay now, Naruto-kun.” Kabuto gave him a reassuring smile and soon, Naruto slowly straightened up and the tension leaked out of his body. Kabuto kept a hand on the other’s back and only moved it to Naruto’s shoulder.

That’s when smoke suddenly filled the area in front of the chalkboard which made Kabuto pull his hand back.

“Silence! Degenerates!” When the smoke cleared, a group of ninjas were standing there with a large man in front of them, scars over his face. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Ibiki Morino, proctor for the first test of the Chunin Exam.”


	10. The Forest of Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Into the forest of Death we go! Tell me what you guys think of this chapter! Enjoy!

Naruto Uzumaki was the worst at taking written exams, the blank test that he left, sitting on the desk he was at, proved it. Yet here he was, advancing to the second part of the Chunin Exams with his team because of his outburst during the tenth question. Now here he was the next day, standing with his teammates and staring at what looked like to be a fenced off forest. He was a little bit confused, not having seen it before at all. 

“This is the location for the second exam,” began Anko as she stood in front of the Genin. “The 44th Training Field. Also known as the Forest of Death.”

“The Forest...of Death?” Naruto stared at the woman and then at the forest again. He swallowed, imagining all the things that could be in there. He felt Kurama’s consciousness brushed up against his own in a brotherly gesture.

“You’ll soon realize why.” Anko finished saying. Naruto stared at the tall trees that rose into the air and frowned.

“Eh, This won’t work on me, I ain’t scared!” Naruto stated, squaring his shoulders. 

“Really?” Anko questioned as she smiled a overly happy smile before a Kunai suddenly slid out of her sleeve and into her hand and threw it at Naruto. It flew passed, cutting a small, thin cut on his cheek  and became embedded into the ground. Then, she was behind him. “A kid like you dies at the very beginning.”

The purple haired woman placed a hand on Naruto’s uncut cheek, whispering “Dappled with the red blood I like.”

She suddenly stilled before grabbing a second Kunai and went to go on the offensive but a tongue was there with her first Kunai helped by it.

“I’m returning your….Kunai knife…” stated a long haired woman.

“Thank you for taking the trouble...But don’t stand behind me, thirsty for blood, If you don’t want a quick death…”  Anko took the Kunai from the woman.

“Well, it’s my nature to act up at the sight of blood, and my precious hair was cut, so I got excited.”

Naruto, throughout this whole thing, was calm and composed on the outside but was uneasy on the inside. He felt Anko let him go and, before he could do anything, something...warm and wet cleaned some of the blood off his cheek, making him whirl around just in time to see that freakishly long tongue disappear inside the the unknown woman’s mouth. He instinctively covered the remaining blood on his cheek, feeling creeped out, even as she was walking away.

What broke his creeped out trance was something brushing against the back of his hand that was covering his cheek. He pulled his hand away, looking at it closely before he saw a few specks of sand floating just an inch above his skin, possessively it seemed. He sneaked a glance at Gaara and saw the red-head clenching his fists, his eyes holding some hidden anger as he watched the woman go. 

“Evidently, we’ve got a lot of hot-blooded kids this time.” He heard Anko stated to herself. “This will be fun.”

She walked towards the fence before turning to the Genin again and pulled out some papers. “Well, before we start the second exam, I have to pass this out to you! It’s a consent form, before you can take part in the test you have to sign this.”

“Why?” Naruto tilted his head.

“From here on out, corpses are going to come out, I have to to get your consent to that! Or It’ll be my responsibility. Well, I’m going to start the explanation for the second exam. In a word, the limits of your survival will be challenged.” The forms were started to get hand out and Naruto held his and passed the others on.

“First, I’ll give you step-by-step instruction on the terrain of this Training Field.” Anko unrolled a scroll that held a map of the forest. “Training Field Number 44 is surrounded by 44 locked entrance gates, there are rivers and a forest and a tower in the middle. It’s about 10 Kilometers from the tower to the gates. In this confined area, you will go through a certain survival program. The contents of which are...anything goes scroll battle!”

She held up two scrolls, both had a different kenji. “I want you to fight for two scrolls, the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll. All together 26 teams got through the first test. Half of them...13 teams gets the Heaven Scroll and the other half gets the Earth Scroll. I’ll hand over one scroll to each team. To put it simply, that’s what you’re vying for.”

“And the conditions to pass?” Sasuke asked.

“Three of you bring both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls to the tower at the center.”

“That means that of the 13 teams, half of them will fail for sure…” Sakura realized.

“Except it has to be in time. For this second exam, the time limit will be 120 hours. Do it in exactly 5 days!”

“Five days?!” Ino belched. 

“What do we do about food?” Choji gulped.

“Be self-sufficient! It’s a treasure trove in the wilderness.” Anko told them. “There’s more than enough food.”

“However,” Kabuto spoke up. “It’s teeming with fierce people-eating animals,poison bugs, poisonous weeds and much more.”

“No way...” Choji sulked.

“Fool, that’s why it’s called survival!” Ino huffed.

“Besides, it’s improbable that 29 people, 13 teams will pass.” Neji stated.

“The interval for activity gets longer with each passing day,” Lee continued on from Neji. “While the time for recover gets shorter...seems pretty grueling!”

“On top of that, you’re surrounded by nothing but enemies,” Sasuke stared at the forest. “Even falling asleep will be a problem.”

“And, besides those injured during attempts to capture scrolls...” Anko trailed off. “There will definitely be people who are unable to endure the rigors of the course.”

Shikamaru raised his hand. “Umm...so you can quit in the middle of it?”

“According to the rules, you can’t give up in the middle of it! I want you to spend 5 days in the forest.”

“Just like I thought...This is going to be a pain!”

“Moving on, conditions of disqualification. Number 1, if all three members of the team can’t make it to the tower with the Heaven and Earth Scrolls within the time limit. Number 2, if a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated. There’s that, and this is a supplement..absolutely do not look at the contents of the scrolls until you reached the tower!”

“What happens if we look at it halfway through?” questioned Naruto.

“When you look at it you’ll find out. There are times when a Chunin must deal with super-secret text. This is to test your reliability. That’s all I have to explain. I’ll exchange your three consent forms for the scrolls in that hut over there. After that, pick your entrance and all the gates will open simultaneously!” She let out a sigh. “Finally, just a word of advice...Don’t die!”

They all read over the form, signed it, exchanged it for a Scroll and now everyone was at their gates, waiting. As the time started to draw closer and closer, Naruto was starting to get antsy and Kurama was as well. He watched as the representative in front of them unlocked the gate, letting the chains fall to the ground. As soon as the gate was pushed open, the three walked through and the second exam of the Chunin Exam began.


	11. Be Eating or Not Be Eaten!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm separating this part and The rest of the Orochimaru fight into two chapters Because I have some things to say.  
> So, Naruto will be going off of Netflix at the start of September, which sucks cause that's how I usually watch and get this fanfic done- well, in terms of Part 1. I do have a crunchyroll but I don't have the thing where you don't have to sit through adds and what not.. So, after September, the posting will be dragging a little.
> 
> With that said, onward to the chapter, hope you enjoy!

Team 7 walked through the forest, making sure that they were close together. They were making sure to be cautious and on alert and that’s when someone screamed, birds fly away from the trees and the team stop and looked behind them.

“I-I’m kind of getting nervous.” Sakura swallowed.

“I-It was nothing, Sakura. Believe it!” Naruto tried to reassure his teammate. He was quiet for a moment before turning and started to walk out of sight. “I’ll be back, I have to go.”

“Don’t take too long.” Sakura stated and he waved back to her and walked further away before he deemed a suitable spot. Once he did his business, he fixed his pants and turned, something struck him and the next thing he knew, he was tied up and laying on the ground.

“Oh come on!” he whined.

**-Sucks to be you, kit.-** Kurama chuckled, making the Genin huff. He glanced upwards and after a few moments, he saw the guy that tied him up flew over him and then he saw  Sasuke chasing after.

“Heeeey! Sasuke!” Naruto called out and Sasuke threw a Kunai, cutting some of the rope that held Naruto.

“I caught you off guard, lucky!” The unknown Ninja stated as Naruto cut himself loose. He threw some Kunais and such at Sasuke who went under the branch, making the weapons hit the wood with dull thuds. One of them apparently had a paper bomb that exploded, making Sasuke fall and land on the ground.

The ninja appeared behind Sasuke just as Naruto lept into a tree.

“This is lucky!” the ninja sneered. “I’ll kill you if you move! Calmly hand over the scroll!”

“Sasuke-kun!” shouted Sakura once she caught sight of his predicament.

With the help of Naruto, Sasuke was able to to injure the ninja and drive him away. Thank kami that the guy came alone.

The three Genin sat down in a circle, letting their nerves calm down. Sasuke glanced at the other two for a moment. “If there’s an instance that we become separated, don’t trust him if he looks like your teammate. Just like now there’s a possibility that an enemy will Henge to get close to us.”

“Yeah.” Naruto nodded.

“So, what do we do?” questioned Sakura.

“We’ll decide on a password.”

“Password?” Naruto blinked.

“Listen, if the password is incorrect, no matter what he looks like...presume he’s an enemy! I’ll say this only once, so listen closely. You ask, Ninja song, “Ninja Chance”. And the answer is this: “The chance to sneak up where a large number of enemies are making a scene. The quiet place has no secret hideout. It is important for a Ninja to know the right time. The time when an enemy is tired and drops his guard”. That’s it.”

“Okay.” Sakura nodded.

“...Could you say it again?” Naruto asked, making his female teammate give him an annoyed look.

“I told you i’d only say it once.” Sasuke stated.

“Could it be that you couldn’t memorize it?” Sakura asked Naruto. “You fool! I got it right away.”

“I memorized it perfectly!” Naruto huffed.

“I’ll carry the scroll.” Sasuke stated as he got to his feet.

“Hey wait, Sasuke.” Naruto followed suit. A sudden pain came from his unmarked cheek and he could feel tiny beads of warm blood starting to trail down from the smallest scratch. Then, a powerful wind came cover them. Naruto was blown back, separating him from his teammates. How far he went, he had no idea.

Once the wind disappeared, he was laying on his back against a tree, groaning in pain. He stayed there for a moment before managing to get to his feet with a wince. “Where’s Sakura and Sasuke?”

A shadow suddenly came over him, making the blond look and froze when he saw probably the biggest snake he had ever seen with brown scales, a tan belly, darker brown spots and slitted eyes that seemed to devour the sight of him.

It started to slither closer before it attacked but Naruto quickly dodged it and landed. He was about to move again when a tail wrapped around him and he was suddenly engulfed in slimy darkness.

“Damn it!” Naruto growled as he finally stopped sliding. He tried to tear the pink flesh with a kunai but it didn’t work and he knew that it was only a matter of time before he was digested fully. He forced himself to make a hand seal. “No...I am not gonna die here like this!”

_ “Kage Bushin no Jutsu!” _

The snake burst, sending slime and blood everywhere. Naruto panted, letting the dispel before turning and quickly headed towards where he teammates were.

Once the boy got there, he could see the grass ninja from before, lower half like a snake and she was coiling around a tree, heading straight for Sasuke. The blond quickly got a kunai and a few shurikens out before throwing them and they hit the trunk in front of the ninja with a dull thunk.

“Sorry, Sasuke.” Naruto crossed his arms, getting all of their attention. “The password...I forgot it!”


End file.
